Maria Hiers holds an MFA in Poetry at the University of Houston where she received the Inprint Fondren Foundation Fellowship. Her poems have appeared in Poetry, Saw Palm, Sonora Review, Harpur Palate and The Shore. She is a writer, educator, and yoga instructor based in Houston, Texas. She has served as Assistant Non-fiction Editor and Assistant Poetry Editor at Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts.

Adrián Pachuca is a queer, Latinx poet, editor and educator from Houston, TX. He’s a recent graduate from the University of Houston’s MFA program with a degree in poetry. Their work is forthcoming in Poetry is Currency. When they are not writing, they can be found working on poetry submissions with their lovely cat (and editor), Senator Doglas.

Kaviya Dhir is the 2025-2026 Houston Youth Poet Laureate and a proud Houstonian. True to her namesake, Kaviya originates from the Sanskrit word for poetry. A 2025 commended Foyle Young Poet, Kaviya first discovered her love for poetry in the local classrooms of Writers in the Schools and J Mark Price’s Writing Workshop. Her work reflects her family’s rich background and experiences—spanning the regions of South America to South Asia—as well as her passion for community service and the commonality of human emotion. She is an alumna of the Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship Program, the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop, and the Juniper Institute for Young Writers. Her work has appeared in Columbia Journal, the Oxonian Review, Wildness, and elsewhere.

Lianna Chap is a Cambodian American writer based in Houston Texas and a student at the Kinder Highschool for Performing and Visual Arts. She is the founder and coeditor of the literary magazine Lotus & Ink, showcasing a wide variety of work from Houston based teenagers. She has performed in Public Poetry open mics, school performances, and other open mic events. She is thrilled to be a featured reader and thanks Public Poetry for helping her gain the courage to perform her poetry.